A row has damaged out over truthful pay after Italy’s main archaeological museum launched a controversial images competitors providing the winners publicity however no payment.
The Nationwide Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), famed for its unrivalled collections from Pompeii and Herculaneum, issued a public discover in March inviting individuals to {photograph} objects from collections that embody the oldest surviving depiction of Atlas, carbonised scrolls from Herculaneum, and busts of Roman emperors, many from the Baths of Caracalla. Members, aged 18 to 30, have been requested to submit photographs of as much as three works from a listing of 14 collections, starting from mosaics and frescoes to artefacts from Historical Egypt. Submissions closed on 16 Might.
The museum stated profitable photographs may very well be circulated by way of its social media channels and used to create banners for show on its fundamental façade. The purpose, it added, was to “actively contain the general public in communication campaigns” and “give visibility to the work of younger artists and creatives”.
Nevertheless, the discover made clear that submitting photographs didn’t entail any “obligation or profit” for individuals. Winners wishing to make use of their photographs past the competitors, together with for business functions, must request permission from the museum and may very well be charged copy charges.
The initiative has drawn sharp criticism. “Sure, you have got learn appropriately,” posted Mi Riconosci, a gaggle representing tradition sector staff and college students, on Fb. “MANN presents no fee, though it is going to obtain a lot of high-quality pictures to make use of in methods that may even generate financial returns.” Corriere della Sera referred to as it “advertising with unpaid pictures”.
Rosanna Carrieri, the president of Mi Riconosci, instructed The Artwork Newspaper that the museum was “underestimating what it means to be a photographer” by providing visibility as a substitute of pay. The competitors, she added, mirrored a broader pattern of cultural establishments anticipating individuals to work for them totally free. “Museums, libraries and archives are all responsible of the identical,” she stated. “Within the case of MANN, we’re speaking about an important establishment.”
Accusations of unpaid cultural work have repeatedly made the headlines. In September 2024, the Civic Museum of the Norman Fort of Aci, close to Catania, marketed for a brand new director however provided no pay. Two years in the past, the city-run Galata Maritime Museum in Genoa sought an English-speaking volunteer with experience in migration historical past and social media to organise occasions.
MANN officers have defended the initiative. Quite than searching for revenue, the museum needs to create a method to “enter into dialogue” with younger individuals, says Raffaella Bosso, the museum administrator who devised the competitors. She says she is accountable for updating promotional banners and selected to launch the competition though the museum already has many high-quality pictures.
“Photographers must be paid for his or her work—nobody ought to need to work totally free,” Bosso says. “However on this case, we didn’t really feel it amounted to an employment relationship … We’d not have launched the competitors if it weren’t with a view to welcoming younger individuals, to placing the museum and our experience at their disposal.”
Bosso says MANN provided to debate issues in a gathering with a few of these affected however up to now has not obtained a response. Carrieri says Mi Riconosci has had no direct contact with the museum. Regardless of the criticism, MANN has not withdrawn or modified its initiative. “The discover stays as it’s,” Bosso says.
Carrieri argues that the actual drawback shouldn’t be lack of funds however how cultural establishments select to spend them. Italian society, she says, sees cultural work as a pastime, providing staff “horrible contracts and plenty of hours of unpaid work”. Nevertheless, she provides that opposition to this strategy is rising. In February, Mi Riconosci launched an attraction for a nationwide cultural staff’ strike, which she says might happen this September. “There’s a widespread need to participate, to demand recognition,” she says. “Cultural staff are more and more conscious of their plight.”
